Conference play starts for St. Francis, Bryant

St. Francis (Pa.) (7-4, 0-0) vs. Bryant (8-5, 0-0)

Chace Athletic Center, Smithfield, Rhode Island; Thursday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: St. Francis (Pa.) and Bryant meet in the first conference game of the season for both teams. In conference play last season, St. Francis (Pa.) finished with 12 wins and six losses, while Bryant won seven games and lost 11.

FAB FRESHMEN: Bryant’s Adam Grant, Michael Green III and Benson Lin have collectively accounted for 50 percent of the team’s scoring this season and have scored 53 percent of all Bulldogs points over the last five games.

FUELING THE OFFENSE: Ikenna Ndugba has either made or assisted on 46 percent of all Bryant field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 16 field goals and 16 assists in those games.

UNBEATEN WHEN: The Bulldogs are 7-0 when they hold opposing teams to 67 points or fewer and 1-5 when opponents exceed 67 points. The Red Flash are 5-0 when they hold opponents to a field goal percentage of 45.9 percent or worse, and 2-4 when opponents exceed that percentage.

STREAK SCORING: Bryant has won its last four home games, scoring an average of 81.3 points while giving up 64.5.

DID YOU KNOW: Bryant has made 9.4 3-pointers per game as a team this year, which is second-best among NEC teams.